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en2019 - VOA60Thu, 21 Mar 2019 14:28:30 -0400Pangea CMS – VOAUS Navy Won't Alter Sail-Bys at Sea Despite China ManeuverThe U.S. Navy won't alter its so-called "freedom of navigation" sail-bys in the disputed South China Sea and has pressed ahead with such operations despite a dangerous maneuver by a Chinese ship against an American destroyer.
Vice Adm. Phillip Sawyer, commander of the U.S. 7th Fleet, told reporters Monday in Manila that Washington protested that "unprofessional behavior" by the Chinese ship, which maneuvered very close to the USS Decatur as the latter sailed closely by a Chinese-occupied island in the Spratlys in September.
Sawyer said the U.S. Navy will continue such sail-bys and patrols in the South China Sea and elsewhere "until there are no excessive maritime claims throughout the world."
Sawyer spoke onboard the USS Blue Ridge, which arrived in Manila after sailing through the South China Sea.
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-navy-sail-bys-south-china-sea-china-maneuver/4835802.html
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-navy-sail-bys-south-china-sea-china-maneuver/4835802.htmlMon, 18 Mar 2019 08:53:15 -0400East AsiaUSAEast AsiaS. China Seawebdesk@voanews.com (Associated Press)Beijing Done, for Now, Acquiring Land in South China SeaTwo American B-52 bombers flew over the South China Sea on a training mission Wednesday for the second time in 10 days, acts that Beijing considers provocative. Chinese officials resent any challenge to their hold over hundreds of the sea’s tiny islets, which other countries claim, too.
But China appears, at least for now, to be done adding positions in the sea that’s claimed in whole or in part by five other governments, maritime scholars agree. They say a seven-year effort to reclaim land for building on once uninhabitable atolls and reefs paused indefinitely two years ago because Beijing had reached the level of control it wanted over the waterway.
“The Chinese basically feel that they have finished what they called the first stage of land reclamation in the South China Sea,” said Yun Sun, East Asia Program senior associate with the Stimson Center think tank in Washington.
​Indefinite pause
Island building that started around 2010 led to the construction of aircraft hangars, radar systems and facilities to support fishing and oil exploration. Civilian populations live on a few islets. China controls the whole 130-island Paracel chain and seven major features in the Spratly archipelago.
Chinese contractors created 3,200 acres of reclaimed land on the sea’s reefs and atolls to help develop them, according to a Pentagon estimate in 2016.
“If the end goal is de facto control of the waterways and air space, then perhaps the number of features that China currently occupies are enough to achieve that end goal,” said Jonathan Spangler, director of the South China Sea Think Tank in Taipei.
Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam claim all or parts of the sea, which stretches from Hong Kong to the island of Borneo. Those governments prize the 3.5 million-square-kilometer waterway for its fisheries, shipping lanes and energy reserves under the seabed.
The other countries, all militarily weaker, resented China’s landfill work and follow-up militarization, especially when projects overlapped their own exclusive maritime economic zones. Their opposition has prompted the U.S. government to periodically send naval ships and aircraft through the area. Washington does not have a territorial claim but says the sea should be open to everyone.
China’s most recent significant dredging or landfill work took place on two Paracel islands in early to mid-2017, said Gregory Poling, director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative under Washington-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Most larger-scale building had wrapped up in 2015, Poling said.
​Political will
China might restart reclamation or take over more islands after settling the year-old Sino-U.S. trade dispute, Sun said. Chinese consider trade talks a “priority for now,” she said, and don’t want to take action that would anger Washington. While trade talks are going on, she said, China might just strengthen existing maritime claims.
“The first stage is completed, so I think it’s more a question of political will to move forward with reclamation at this point,” she said.
Beijing will avoid taking over more islets controlled by other countries, Sun added, because it wants to strengthen relations with Asian governments as a counter to U.S. influence in the sea.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes states that oppose Chinese maritime sovereignty claims, is talking with China now through 2021 about a code of conduct that would head off mishaps between ships.
China hasn’t occupied any new features since 1994, though it took effective control of Scarborough Shoal from the Philippines after a tense standoff in 2012, setting off a four-year political spat. Since 2016, China has offered aid and investment to the Philippines, helping to ease friction.
China probably won’t “proactively occupy new features” unless it feels pushed by a foreign government, Spangler said. Chinese officials cite historic documents to back their claim to about 90 percent of the sea.
The government is now in a phase of “deployment of assets” to the islands it holds, Poling said.
“I think there is a false assumption that not much is happening in the South China Sea, because there aren’t many clashes or incidents on the same scale, but China is continuing to fill in infrastructure on the islands at a fair clip and it’s already got the ability I think to use those islands,” said Euan Graham, executive director with La Trobe Asia, a unit of La Trobe University in Australia.
“They have all the infrastructure in terms of fuel, hangar space for combat aircraft,” Graham said.
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https://www.voanews.com/a/beijing-done-for-now-acquiring-land-in-south-china-sea/4830326.htmlFri, 15 Mar 2019 05:15:08 -0400East AsiaEast AsiaS. China Seawebdesk@voanews.com (Ralph Jennings)https://www.voanews.com/a/beijing-done-for-now-acquiring-land-in-south-china-sea/4830326.html#commentsChina, Vietnam Regularly Clashing at Sea Despite DiplomacyA capsized Vietnamese fishing boat that Hanoi says was hit by a Chinese vessel in contested waters is the latest in what scholars call a string of often unreported maritime mishaps between the two sides despite official efforts to get along.
The fishing boat carrying a crew of five capsized on March 6 near the Paracel Islands, a group of South China Sea islets claimed by both countries but controlled by China.
The National Committee for Incident-Natural Disaster Response and Search and Rescue in Hanoi says a Chinese vessel rammed the boat near Discovery Reef due east of Vietnam and southwest of Hong Kong, according to the news website VnExpress International. Another Vietnamese fishing boat rescued the crew, the report says. China rejects blame for the mishap.
Although the capsized boat is the biggest publicized incident at sea since a May 2014 mass boat ramming incident, Asian maritime scholars call it one in a series.
“This matter is not a special matter,” said Huang Kwei-bo, vice dean of the international affairs college at National Chengchi University in Taipei. Each side stands ready to repel the other, he said, meaning ultimately boat crews get hurt.
“More or less, these things have happened before. Normally you'll see when relations are good, these things are covered up but when they're not, the incidents are made bigger,” Huang said.
Maritime clashes, diplomatic repair work
China and Vietnam are the two most outspoken rival claimants to parts of the 3.5 million-square-kilometer sea that stretches as far south as the island of Borneo. The two communist neighbors also fought a land border war in the 1970s, causing long-term distrust between governments.
China and Vietnam got into two landmark, deadly naval clashes, in 1974 and 1988, over control of the sea that’s prized for fisheries as well as fossil fuel reserves. The 2014 boat-ramming incident followed the placement of a Chinese oil drilling rig in the South China Sea.
Smaller clashes take place without causing much uproar, said Jay Batongbacal, international maritime affairs professor at University of the Philippines.
In 2011, for example, a Chinese patrol vessel “reportedly cut the exploration cables” of a Vietnamese seismic survey ship in Vietnam’s exclusive maritime economic zone, according to a 2018 study by the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.
Repair work
Communist party envoys often meet after incidents at sea to foster a period of calm. Each side depends on the other economically. China looks to Vietnam as a place to sell raw materials for manufacturing, while Vietnam counts China as its biggest export market.
But to prove their maritime sovereignty claim, Vietnamese authorities sometimes encourage fishing vessels to violate China’s unilateral moratorium on fishing in disputed waters, said Trung Nguyen, international relations dean at Ho Chi Minh University of Social Sciences and Humanities.
Anti-China sentiment runs high among regular Vietnamese citizens too, and the government can tap into that when it needs a shot of public support.
Vietnamese news media initially did not identify China as a player in the March 6 mishap, Nguyen said. He suspects the Communist Party eventually gave the media a "green light."
“I think that the party-to-party relations have to figure out a way to solve the problem, otherwise similar incidents can happen in the future,” Nguyen said.
Two-way relations are “not bad” at the moment, Huang said, noting Vietnam’s recent inclusion under China’s pan-Asian Belt-and-Road infrastructure development plan. The two sides also still live by a 2011 agreement to solve their maritime disputes through negotiations.
Code of Conduct
The March 6 incident may become a talking point between China and the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations as they negotiate a maritime code of conduct by 2021, analysts believe. Association members Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines vie with China over claims to the same sea. Vietnam is also a member.
A code would spell out how naval and coast guard vessels, including drones, can avoid accidents, Huang said, but it’s unclear whether it would apply to private vessels. China and the Southeast Asian bloc have talked about a code since 2002, with China delaying it part of that time. Beijing has the strongest military position among claimants to the disputed sea.
Other countries would consider backing code proposals to stop incidents like the one March 8, Batongbacal said.
“I'm sure that this incident will be considered by other countries in discussing the code of conduct, so Vietnam’s proposals I’m sure will have some bearing on that,” he said.
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https://www.voanews.com/a/china-vietnam-boats/4822960.htmlMon, 11 Mar 2019 04:52:51 -0400East AsiaEast AsiaS. China Seawebdesk@voanews.com (Ralph Jennings)https://www.voanews.com/a/china-vietnam-boats/4822960.html#commentsBangladesh Tells UN It Cannot Accept More Rohingya RefugeesBangladesh has told the United Nations Security Council that it cannot take in any more Rohingya refugees.
Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque told the body Thursday: "I regret to inform the council that Bangladesh would no longer be in a position to accommodate more people from Myanmar."
He accused Myanmar of making "hollow promises and various obstructionist approaches" in the negotiations to return the Rohingyas to Myanmar.
"Is Bangladesh paying the price for being responsive and responsible in showing empathy to a persecuted minority population of a neighboring country?" Haque asked. "Not a single Rohingya has volunteered to return to Rakhine due to the absence of conducive environment there."
Hau Do Suan, Myanmar's ambassador, said his country needs more time in its efforts to repatriate the Rohingyas. He asked the council to consider the "huge physical as well as psychological barriers" in the process of returning the Rohingyas. "It takes time and patience as well as courage to build trust and confidence among different communities in Rakhine."
British Ambassador Karen Pierce said, "We are very disappointed that there hasn't been more progress on getting the refugees back." She added: "The scale of what has been done to the Rohingya Muslims and the allegations of crimes against humanity really mark this out as one of the most terrible events of this century so far."
Russia and China, unlike the Western members of the council, believe that it is up to just Myanmar and Bangladesh to craft a solution for the return of the Rohingyas.
More than 720,000 Rohingya refugees have fled to Bangladesh since August 2017 to escape persecution and violence in Myanmar. Because of previous refugee crises in Myanmar, Bangladesh currently is home to nearly one million Rohingya refugees.
The United Nations has praised the country’s generosity and has appealed to the authorities to continue to allow people fleeing violence in Myanmar to seek safety in Bangladesh.
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is a predominantly Buddhist country. It has a long history of tension with its ethnic minorities, much of it based on religion. Southern Chin State is the only State in Myanmar with a Christian majority. It also is the poorest and least developed region in the country.
The large Rohingya Muslim population in Rakhine State continues to suffer discrimination and repression from the majority Buddhist community. Though they have lived in Myanmar for generations, the Rohingya are denied citizenship and remain stateless.
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https://www.voanews.com/a/bangladesh-tells-un-it-cannot-accept-more-rohingya-refugees/4809231.htmlFri, 01 Mar 2019 09:10:08 -0500S. China SeaEast AsiaS. China SeaImmigrationwebdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)Pompeo: US Worried Over Chinese Moves Threatening NavigationU.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday he would discuss U.S. concerns about Chinese actions that threaten freedom of navigation in the disputed South China Sea with Philippine officials during an overnight visit to Manila.
Pompeo arrived late Thursday and immediately met with President Rodrigo Duterte at an air base. He discussed with Duterte about unsuccessful talks between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, which he also attended.
"We're worried that the Chinese are using their power in ways that will deny freedom of navigation in the region and that's important to every country in Asia, and Philippines included," Pompeo told reporters as he flew to Manila from Hanoi.
When asked if the U.S. was concerned about China's actions, Pompeo replied "absolutely," adding that Washington has a national security strategy to address the problem.
The long-seething territorial disputes are a key irritant between Washington and Beijing, which has turned several disputed barren reefs into islands with runways and other military facilities.
In addition to China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also contest ownership of the strategic waters, where U.S. Navy ships have sailed close to Chinese-occupied islands to assert freedom of navigation.
Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Romualdez said by telephone that a proposed move to re-examine the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty between Washington and Manila was also expected to be discussed during Pompeo's meetings with Philippine officials.
Romualdez said the Philippines has sought a review of the 1951 treaty, which calls on the allies to come to each other's defense against an external attack, to update it. An initial meeting between Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and a Pentagon official will be held next month in Manila before formal talks begin, he said.
In the past, Filipino officials have tried to clarify whether the Philippines could invoke the treaty to seek U.S. help in case of an attack in the South China Sea.
Duterte, who took office in 2016, has been a challenge to the U.S. because of his frequent attacks on U.S. security policies and his crackdown on illegal drugs that has claimed the lives of thousands of mostly poor drug suspects. He lashed out at former President Barack Obama over criticisms of the crackdown but has had better relations with Trump, who has invited him to visit the White House.
Duterte has revived once-frigid ties with China and sought Chinese infrastructure funding and trade and investment. He has reached out to Russia and once threatened to end the presence of U.S. counterterrorism forces in the country, although that has not happened.
"This is a long-standing, deep relationship between our countries and I hope to go build on that with my counterpart Teodoro Locsin and President Duterte," Pompeo told reporters.
Duterte and Pompeo "reaffirmed the longstanding U.S.-Philippines alliance, discussing ways to improve cooperation on regional security and counterterrorism," Pompeo's deputy spokesman, Robert Palladino, said.
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https://www.voanews.com/a/pompeo-us-worried-over-chinese-moves-threatening-navigation/4807808.htmlThu, 28 Feb 2019 11:07:43 -0500USAUSAEast AsiaS. China Seawebdesk@voanews.com (Associated Press)US Navy Ships Pass Through Strategic Taiwan Strait, Riling ChinaThe United States sent two Navy ships through the Taiwan Strait on Monday as the U.S. military increased the frequency of movement through the strategic waterway despite opposition from China.
The voyage risks further raising tensions with China but will likely be viewed by self-ruled Taiwan as a sign of support from the Trump administration amid growing friction between Taipei and Beijing.
The movement comes as U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States and China are "very, very close" to a deal to end a months-long trade war that has slowed global growth and disrupted markets.
The U.S. Navy's passage through the Taiwan Strait also comes just days before a summit between Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong Un.
"The ships' transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific," the U.S. Pacific Fleet said in a statement.
The two ships were identified as the destroyer Stethem and Navy cargo and ammunition ship Cesar Chavez, the statement added. The 180-km-wide (111.85 mile) Taiwan Strait separates Taiwan from China.
Washington has no formal ties with Taiwan, but is bound by law to help defend the island nation and is its main source of arms. The Pentagon says Washington has sold Taiwan more than $15 billion in weaponry since 2010.
China has been ramping up pressure to assert its sovereignty over the island, which it considers a breakaway province of "one China."
China has repeatedly sent military aircraft and ships to circle the island on drills in the past few years and worked to isolate the island internationally, whittling down its few remaining diplomatic allies.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency released a report describing Taiwan as the "primary driver" for China's military modernization, which it said had made major advances in recent years.
Taiwan is one of a growing number of flashpoints in the U.S.-China relationship, which also include a trade war, U.S. sanctions and China's increasingly muscular military posture in the South China Sea, where the United States also conducts freedom of navigation patrols.
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-navy-ships-pass-through-strategic-taiwan-strait-riling-china/4803461.html
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-navy-ships-pass-through-strategic-taiwan-strait-riling-china/4803461.htmlMon, 25 Feb 2019 16:58:58 -0500East AsiaUSAEast AsiaS. China Seawebdesk@voanews.com (Reuters)